Assemblyman Chris Tague (R,C,I-Schoharie) is joining his Assembly Minority Conference colleagues in calling for the passage of a package of bills known collectively as the “Restore Order” Initiative that were drafted in response to a recent spike in violent crime throughout the state. The bills would restore discretion to judges to keep dangerous criminals off of the streets (A.5265), which was taken from them by previous “bail reform” legislation. The legislation does so by giving judges the ability to once again issue bail to those they deem a danger to the community, while also increasing penalties for particularly violent and hateful crimes, such as shooting into a crowd (A.4259) or sexually assaulting and murdering a child (A.6017).

“We know our judges, and our judges know us,” said Tague. “That’s why we elect them to serve our communities in a way that reflects our values and the realities of the places we live in. Bail reform has been a failed experiment for our criminal justice system that has tied the hands of our judges, with deadly consequences, and passing these bills will be an important first step toward restoring law and order in our communities.”